


Do You Realize?

by quakiebaka



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Fenton helps him, Fluff, Gyro's still learning to be a dad, Light Angst, M/M, Mostly fluff anyway, brief appearances from Manny and Lil' Bulb, huey mentioned, post Astro B.O.Y.D.!, there's one swear word it's not bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26160895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quakiebaka/pseuds/quakiebaka
Summary: Fenton's not one to hide feelings when he has them. Whether it be small acts of kindness or words of affirmation, he'll show his love and appreciation. Gyro is no exception to this.Gyro, on the other hand, is the opposite. His walls are up for good reason. However, it’s beyond his own comprehension how he’s managed to fall for his former intern. What's even more surprising is how long he denied it until he's finally pestered about it from a certain small parrot.
Relationships: Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Gyro Gearloose
Comments: 10
Kudos: 113





	Do You Realize?

**Author's Note:**

> First fenro fic!  
> I'm not much of a writer, so I gave this up a while back. Instead, I drew a scene from it that's posted on my tumblr (@quakiebaka. It can also be found on my insta. Same user). I was pleasantly surprised when people liked the drawing! So I decided to come back to it because, honestly, fenro is a comfort ship for me and I love to see any new content with them in it. Props to anyone who can write over 1k words because this was a struggle for me.

Fenton’s voice was smooth and tender as he tucked a small grey parrot laying on the sofa with a blanket. He gently ruffled the soft tuft of feathers on Boyd’s head before scratching his scalp ever so slightly. “There you go, _pajarito._ Is that comfortable?” 

Boyd gave nothing more than a yawn and a nod of a head as a response while trying to fight off the growing tiredness within him but ultimately failing. Quiet snores came from the parrot indicating he had, in fact, fallen asleep. Fenton’s beak curved into a smile and he moved his hand away.

“Well, that took way less time than expected,” the duck whispered to himself. He closed the room to the break room as he exited back out into the main lab. Gyro was still sitting at his desk fiddling with his newest invention.

His murmurs got louder the closer Fenton got. The chicken took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his beak in frustration. “Great, I can’t even find the source of the problem. It’s been two hours, for goodness sake!” 

He stared off for a brief moment as if he had remembered something before frantically putting on his glasses. It had been _two hours_ , way past Boyd’s bedtime.

“Oh my god- BOYD! I FORGOT ABOUT BOYD! IT’S PAST HIS-” Fenton’s voice cut through Gyro’s panic, “Dr. Gearloose, it’s okay! Boyd’s asleep in the break room. I carried him there and set him on the sofa since he seemed too sleepy to walk over.” 

Surprised, Gyro turned his head to be met with Fenton still rambling on. Typical. “He said you looked really focused on your work and he's not wrong. He didn’t want to bother you so I offered to tuck him in instead. I probably should’ve asked for your permission before-” 

“Cabrera, remember you can just call me Gyro. And regarding Boyd, it’s fine, I, um…” the words he wanted to say weren’t ones he usually said, so maybe that’s why it felt so difficult to get out. Gyro took another breath. “I… appreciate you looking out for Boyd. I’m not used to having to take care of anyone but myself.”

Fenton chuckled, “You don’t even do that well, Gyro.”

Gyro’s face began to flush from embarrassment, or that’s what he presumed it to be due to. “Exactly. But what I meant to say is I’m not used to being paternal. It would seem you have a better understanding of kids’ needs.”

Fenton smiled taking a sip from his mug filled with hot water, “Well, I always volunteered to take care of M’ma’s friends’ kids growing up. She said the kids loved me and behaved better in my care than in their parents’. Can you believe that? I almost considered child care for a job if my internship application wasn’t accepted.” 

Gyro hummed in acknowledgment. His focus returned to the small trinket he was working on. Gyro began to wonder if he should’ve first taken more time to learn to care for himself instead of rushing at the opportunity to work under Dr. Akita. Since then, he'd started to neglect his own health to adhere to Akita's every command. 

He wanted to regret his time there, and he did, but without it, he would have never built and come to know his pride and joy Boyd. He shook the incoming negative thoughts from his head. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. Right now, he and Fenton had one goal and it was to find the source of the malfunction of this invention. 

“Come on, Cabrera. We’ve got until morning to figure this out.” 

A nod came from the former intern as he rushed to Gyro’s side to pick up his mug. “I’ll get the coffee ready right away.”

\---

The desk the two scientists were working on had become cluttered. The hours of work were able to be seen. They were both nodding off only to quickly wake up and go back to work. Fenton rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms and torso.

“Gyro, don’t you think you deserve a bit of rest? We’ve been at this for a while and it’s almost 3 am,” Fenton yawned as his eyes kept glued to their work. Snored grumbles came from the man in question. The sound caught the attention of the duck who looked to see that Gyro was asleep, his arms folded together acting as a pillow for his head. He looked so peaceful that Fenton couldn’t help but let a tired grin come across his face.

“Nonsense, Fenton… We’re… almost done…” Gyro's words were slurring together. 

Fenton held back a laugh. He never would have taken Gyro Gearloose to be a sleep talker. Then, he'd just noticed how cold the room had become.

“Right, the air conditioning goes off after 12 am,” Fenton stated. “Hm, Gyro’s gonna catch a cold if I don't find something to cover him up with.”

Fenton got out of his chair and headed to the break room. Opening the door, he heard quiet whirs come from Boyd who was still asleep. The sight made Fenton's heart melt. Before he got any more distracted, he took the second spare blanket draped on the armrest at Boyd’s feet. The blanket was Fenton’s own, one he brought to make the workplace look homey. It was a definite splash of color to the otherwise bland and grey room. 

He took the blanket back to the lab and carefully draped it over Gyro’s shoulders followed by removing his glasses to allow him to sleep comfortably. Gyro leaned into Fenton’s touch whenever he got close. Each time he did, he’d have the sweetest smile Fenton had ever seen. It was such a rare sight to see him have his guard down, Fenton couldn’t help but blush the more he thought about how fortunate he was.

“I’d wish you smiled more often, _cariño_. _Podría enamorarme de ti todo de nuevo con una mirada de tu sonrisa.”_

Fenton reflected back on the progress they had made as friends. Their relationship in recent months had turned from strictly professional to a trusting friendship, one that bonded over personal growth and learning to be a parent to Boyd. Both were challenges for Gyro that he clearly needed support and help with. That’s where Fenton was always more than happy to oblige. Teaching the chicken the work/family balance was a challenge with how much he neglected his own care, but with time, Fenton had no doubt Gyro would accomplish it. 

Seeing Gyro finally getting some rest after 3 days was more than enough motivation for Fenton to continue working. He continued as he took a seat back at his desk.

With an hour shy of the sunrise, he had finished. He stood back to take a final look at the work on the whiteboard proud yet drowsily. The duck yawned and rubbed his eyes. He should get some sleep before his noon shift. He glanced over his shoulder to find Dr. Gearloose still asleep. With that reassurance, he grabbed his bag and belongings and left the lab.

\---

The morning sun began to break through the glass panes of the lab, the orange-tinted light scattering around the lab thanks to the surrounding water. The light crept its way to Gyro’s eyes, quickly irritating them. He shifted the position of his head away to get comfortable once more whilst mumbling back to sleep. Just as he was about to doze off, a small hand tugged down at his sleeve.

“Dr. Gearloose, are you okay?”

Gyro woke up with a slight jolt then squinting as he made eye contact with the short boy who awoke him. 

“Ugh… Boyd, is that you? I can't see… where are my glasses...?”

As if on cue, Lil Bulb ran over holding Gyro’s glasses. It jumped onto Boyd’s hand and with his help, was able to place and adjust the glasses onto Gyro’s face.

“Ah, thank you, Lil Bulb,” Gyro said. Lil Bulb gave a salute before hopping off the desk and heading off to wherever it was going. Gyro sat up out of his chair. That’s when he felt a cozy comfort suddenly leave his body as he felt the blanket fall off of his shoulders. 

“Oh. How long has that been there?”

Boyd picked up the blanket and folded it and placed it on the chair seat, “I’m not sure, but it was on there when I saw you. Maybe Dr. Crackshell-Cabrera put it there?”

_Fenton did what?_

A familiar warmth returned to him again. Not one that the blanket provided, no. He realized he was blushing.

The feathers around his beak flushed with a soft red hue along with an equally delicate smile. Fenton had done it again. Not only did he take care of Boyd last night, but it seemed he had also taken on the task of caring for Gyro as well. 

The thought only made the scientist blush more. “And so he did…”

Gyro’s thoughts quickly began to fill. It’s not the first time he’d had thoughts about the eccentric Latino. It had consumed his mind a fair bit, more than he’d like to admit, especially after their trip to Tokyolk some months back. Gyro placed his hand on his cheek now feeling how warm it had become. 

From him came a mumble, “How annoying. I thought I’d be used to this by now…”

“Used to what?” responded a curious voice that immediately startled the tall chicken who yelped in surprise.

Oh, right. Boyd was still here. 

Dr. Gearloose swiftly regained his stoic and intelligent composure. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure? Your face was red for a while. Do you have a fever? Huey helped me get my First Aid badge, so I’m more than qualified to help.”

“I promise it’s nothing. I just… thought of something.”

Boyd fell quiet for a moment as he stared at Gyro with a tilt of his head and a blank expression. It was clear to Gyro that the parrot was analyzing him. The gears were turning in his head, quite literally. Within seconds, Boyd’s eyes practically widened with a glimmer. 

“Or _someone_!”

 _Shit, he knows_.

“Bah bah bah nonononono NO! Boyd, w-whatever you’re thinking, stop it!”

Gyro’s face was back to blushing red. So much for keeping his composure. How was he going to get out of this one? It’s not like he could outsmart his genius and high-tech invention! Never had he ever regretted his high intellect more than at that very moment. 

He began to back away slowly as the small boy got closer to him, his beak curving into a teasing smile. “You know, Dr. Gearloose,” Boyd began, “I’ve picked up your behaviors when you’re around Dr. Crackshell-Cabrera. Your heart rate goes up, you’ll even blush sometimes.” He took another few steps forward, Gyro equally taking the same amounts of steps back. 

Boyd continued, “None of that behavior was in my system to analyze against so I was confused. I asked Huey if you’d acted like that before and he said that that was completely new! Then, he explained to me the obvious!”

Gyro let out a Huff of frustration. _Curse that red nephew._

Suddenly, he felt a surface behind him. There was no space left. He was quite literally backed into a wall with nowhere to go and yet it felt like the wall was about to give away. There’s no way his face could get any redder than it already-

“You like him, don’t you, Dr. Gearloose?”

He felt his legs tremble as they struggled to keep him standing. Was it just him, or had his chest suddenly felt heavier? And the room started spinning? Oh, he indeed felt like he was burning up beyond humanly possible and about to pass out.

“O-Of course not! I-I just, I-I…” Words struggled to form as he stuttered. _NO! Gyro Gearloose does NOT stutter! Get a hold of yourself!_

Just as Boyd was about to ramble on about this new-found information, the elevator dinged. The two birds turned around to see Manny step out of the elevator. Desperate for any distraction, Gyro greeted the horse. 

“Manny! You’re here early! Thank goodness…” Gyro said, mumbling the last part under his breath. Manny tapped out a response then pointed to the clock on the wall. The two birds looked over.

“Oh. You’re right on time then. N-Nevermind. I’m just going to, um, get some coffee to wake up a bit.” Gyro turned to Boyd. “We’ll talk about this later, okay? I should probably start working.” He walked away. Boyd was left with a satisfied grin.

“Huey was very right.”

\---

Gyro rushed to the bathroom. He didn’t require coffee just yet. The sudden accusation made against him was more than enough to keep him awake. For now, he needed to cool down his unbearably hot face. 

He made his way to the sink and reached a hand out to turn on the faucet. Gyro gripped its handle and held onto the side of the basin with the other hand.

Tilting his head up, he was met with his reflection staring at him in the mirror. He wasn’t one who regularly checked his appearance, if at all, but besides his current complexion, he had to admit he looked rather well-rested. The usual dark circles under his eyes were faint in comparison to the past week. Yesterday night was indeed a blur he couldn’t remember, but he must’ve fallen asleep shortly after Cabrera's help.

He turned the faucet on and let the water flow out. He cupped his hands together under the tap and let them fill with water before splashing the cold water onto his face. He grabbed a paper towel to dry any droplets off.

“There. That’s much better. A clear face makes for a clear mind.” he stated. That confidence merely lasted until he began to process his confrontation with Boyd.

Fenton had been there for him more than ever before after Tokyolk. He was helping Gyro become a better person, not only for Boyd but himself as well. The more Gyro thought about it, the more he realized Fenton had always been like this. His words of affirmation, willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good, always keeping morale high, his capability to love and forgive... the list could go on. 

Those were some things that he loved about him. He found himself admiring the duck and wanting to know more. Fenton was a walking mystery the chicken yearned to understand. He certainly enjoyed the way Fenton called him Gyro yesterday. Only Fenton could make his heart flutter by saying his name. And when he laughed or hummed some stupid tune-

Oh. Things were starting to make sense.

The thoughts came crashing into his head like he had completed a puzzle that took far too long to solve. Gyro's laugh was nervous and seemingly forced.

“Falling for Cabrera? Hah! That’s...” 

Gyro’s reflection stared back at him. The clear view of his returning flushed red face and his heart experiencing tachycardia again practically taunted him. He couldn't let it get to him, he refused to, but no scientist in their right mind would ever lie with such facts in front of them.

Gyro felt his face scrunch up while holding back tears, now feeling worse than ever. For his own sake, he'd have to deny _that_ wasn't the case. He'd rather break his heart now than let Fenton break it for him. Determined, he grabbed the sides of his arms in a self-embrace for comfort.

_He was never going to be with someone as wonderful as Fenton._

A sharp inhale of a breath cut through the silence followed by heart-aching sobs.

“That’s rich. There’s no way I’d let myself have feelings for stupid, dumb, bumbling Cabrera. Not in a million years. Not ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Translation for Fenton's spanish bits:  
> "pajarito" - small bird (in its context, it's used similarly to "niñito", meaning little boy or child)  
> "cariño" - honey, sweetie, dear (honestly it translates to many things, really any pet names would fit)  
> "Podría enamorarme de ti todo de nuevo con una mirada de tu sonrisa" - I could fall in love with you all over again with just a look at your smile.


End file.
